LONDON - Probably the most iconic England football shirt in history, worn by Geoff Hurst when he scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966, failed to net a buyer at auction on Tuesday.
English forward Geoff Hurst -- who is the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final -- scores his first goal in the 4-2 victory over West Germany in 1966
The long-sleeved red cotton shirt -- bearing the number 10 -- was valued at between pound sterling300,000 (355,000 euros, $395,000) and pound sterling500,000, but despite some bids in the room, it fell short of the reserve price at Sotheby's in London.
"The shirt is a hugely important and valuable piece of footballing history and it generated a great deal of interest ahead of the sale," said a Sotheby's spokeswoman.
"Though widely admired in the months preceding today's auction, and despite having seen bidding in the salesroom, the shirt failed to reach its reserve price so unfortunately did not find a buyer today."
Hurst would probably have never featured in the side but for an injury to first-choice striker Jimmy Greaves prior to the quarter-finals.
He seized his chance impeccably, scoring a hat-trick -- including the final goal to the immortal line by the commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme "the crowd are on the pitch, they think it's all over...it is now!" -- in what is England's only ever major tournament victory.
The shirt is believed to have been first auctioned at Christie's in 2000, when it was sold for pound sterling91,750 to a private collector.
It was then bought in 2008 by property investor Andrew Leslau for an undisclosed sum on behalf of international investors.
Leslau insured the shirt for pound sterling1m, calling it "the most important shirt in English football history".